Champions League shocks
Two quarterfinal ties wrapped on Tuesday with contrasting finishes: Paris Saint‑Germain beat Liverpool 2‑0 — Ousmane Dembélé scored both goals — to move through 4‑0 on aggregate, while Atletico Madrid advanced despite losing the night 2‑1 to Barcelona because Ademola Lookman’s earlier strike carried the tie overall. Barcelona did score early through Lamine Yamal and added a goal from Ferran Torres, but Atletico’s aggregate advantage held and sends them to their first Champions League semi since 2016–17. (bleacherreport.com) (worldsoccertalk.com)
Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico Madrid are through to the Champions League semi-finals after Tuesday’s quarter-final second legs. (uefa.com) Paris won 2-0 at Liverpool on April 14 after a 2-0 first-leg win in France, finishing the tie 4-0 on aggregate. UEFA’s front page listed the result as “Liverpool 0-2 Paris,” and its results page confirmed the aggregate score. (uefa.com 1) (uefa.com 2) Atletico lost 2-1 at home to Barcelona but still advanced 3-2 on aggregate after winning the first leg 2-0 on April 8. Lamine Yamal scored in the fourth minute, Ferran Torres added another, and Ademola Lookman’s reply sent Diego Simeone’s side through. (uefa.com 1) (uefa.com 2) The format is simple but unforgiving: quarter-finals are decided over two matches, and the combined score across both legs determines who advances. That is why Barcelona could win the night in Madrid and still go out, while Paris only needed to protect the edge it built in the first leg. (uefa.com) Tuesday’s results also set the shape of the semi-finals. UEFA’s bracket shows Paris on one side against the winner of Bayern Munich versus Real Madrid, while Atletico will face the winner of Arsenal versus Sporting Club de Portugal. (uefa.com 1) (uefa.com 2) For Atletico, the run ends a long wait. Reuters and UEFA both said the club had not reached the Champions League semi-finals since the 2016-17 season. (reuters.com) (uefa.com) For Paris, the result keeps alive a path to the May 30 final in Budapest and extends a knockout run that already included an 8-2 aggregate win over Chelsea in the round of 16. UEFA’s results page shows Paris beat Chelsea 5-2 in the first leg and 3-0 in the second before eliminating Liverpool without conceding in either quarter-final match. (uefa.com) The other two quarter-final ties finish on Wednesday, April 15, with Bayern Munich leading Real Madrid 2-1 and Arsenal leading Sporting 1-0. By the end of the day, the semi-final bracket that Paris and Atletico played into on Tuesday will be complete. (uefa.com)
